Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
L37A1 — Let the wolf eat the fool, ATU 461A.
Source data for narratives and traditions is drawn from Berezkin’s Analytical Catalogue. If you use this data, please acknowledge and link to it: Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of motif
OverviewA man sets out to discover the reason for his misfortunes. Others also convey their questions to him. God (fate) replies that a predator (wolf, lion, bear) must eat the fool, and in order to help the others, one must dig up treasure, marry the queen, etc. The man refuses to marry, take the gold, etc., because he has not received direct instructions to do so. The predator decides that he will not find anyone more foolish.
Berezkin category: Adventures: Monsters and evil spirits
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part of group 10, Adventures.
L37 has 9 other sub-motifs
RelatedL37a. On the way to a powerful being, a person meets characters who ask him to ask questions on their behalf (usually to find out the cause of their misfortunes).
L37a1. A man sets out to discover the reason for his misfortunes. Others also convey their questions to him. God (fate) replies that a predator (wolf, lion, bear) must eat the fool, and in order to help the others, one must dig up treasure, marry the queen, etc. The man refuses to marry, take the gold, etc., because he has not received direct instructions to do so. The predator decides that he will not find anyone more foolish.
L37a2. A man comes to ask God (fate, the sun, etc.) questions that he was asked to ask by those he met along the way. Someone asks when he will be freed from his duties. Answer: let him leave another person in his place.
L37b. By accidentally overhearing a conversation between animals or spirits, a person learns how to help themselves and others.
L37b1. To cure a sick person or rid a house of other misfortunes, one must kill (catch, expel) a toad, frog or snake hiding in the house (in the garden, under the roots).
L37b2. From the conversation of snakes or crows, a person learns the cause of another's illness: a snake has crawled inside him. The person expels the snake and the sick person recovers.
L37b3. From the birds' conversation, humans learn that their bodies or secretions have miraculous properties.
L37b4. From a conversation between spirits or animals, a man learns that the meat (brain, blood) of a neighbouring shepherd's dog has miraculous properties.
L37c. A person encounters the incarnations of Fortune (and Misfortune) – his own or someone else's. He manages to influence their behaviour and change (for himself) the course of events for the better.
L37c1. The happiness (misfortune, hardship, etc.) of each person is represented by specific characters with whom they interact.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| M39A6C | 99.32% | The poor girl agrees to marry the prince only if he learns a craft. The prince fulfills the condition, then falls into the hands of enemies. He promises to make them an expensive item, let them sell it. His wife or (father, vizier) learns the job, the prisoner is released, the attackers are executed. |
| I82I | 98.51% | The name of the object in the night sky (usually Venus) sounds like Zukhra, Zahra, Zura, etc. |
| E31A1 | 97.32% | Three (rarely four or two) men participate in the creation of the girl: one carves the figure out of wood, another dresses her, and the third brings her to life. To whom should the animated girl belong? |
| K117A | 96.30% | A girl who is constantly silent is promised to the one who can make her speak; or a husband struggles to make his magical wife speak. |
| I35A | 95.59% | Thunder is produced by an old woman in the sky. |
| K38A | 95.52% | Upon arriving in the underworld, the hero sees white and black horses, rams, etc. The white ones will take him to the upper world, while the black ones will take him even lower. Usually, the hero accidentally touches the black one. Sometimes a third ram or horse is mentioned, red or grey. Or the hero grabs the left horn of the animal instead of the right, and as a result ends up not where he wants to be. |
| L15F | 95.37% | A young woman or man dies as soon as her or his jewellery (rarely: organ) is stolen, and comes back to life when the jewellery is returned or when the antagonist removes it. |
| K100F | 95.23% | A man catches an unusual fish (rarely: a bird or some kind of aquatic creature). His son (a worker) releases it. For this, the father (king) drives him away, or the one who released the fish leaves on his own. The rescued fish helps him. |
| K38E4 | 94.17% | The narratives (in various contexts) mention a palace (castle, crypt, church, bridge, causeway) built of gold and silver modules – usually bricks, less often planks. |
| K27X4 | 94.00% | The character is told to climb a tree (pole, mountain, etc.) while holding a full open vessel in his hand and not spilling a drop from it. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
DistributionDrag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below
Traditions
25 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 25 traditions: Saudi Arabia, Arabs of Egypt, Berbers of Morocco and adjacent parts of Algeria, Algeria Arabs, Arabs of Sudan, Sudanese, Latvians, Baluch, Pashto, Persians, Cherkassians, Adyghe, Kabardin, Ingush, Lezgians, Archin, Kürin; Khinalug, Rutul, Tsakhur, Kumyk, Terekemen, Mingrelians (Megrelians), Laz, Georgians, Armenians, Anatolia Turks, Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Kurds, Kazakh, Turkmen, Luri, Bakhtiari, Iraq, Saudi Arabia
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